Farm 2 School

Farm To School

Benson Public Schools Farm to School (F2S) program encompasses the Food Service , Agriculture and Elementary departments. Check out our Photo Gallery for pictures!

​

The food service department uses Farm to School products all year long. Whether is it is squash or green beans that are frozen; spinach or potatoes that are used fresh; tomatoes and onions that are used in recipes like spaghetti sauce; or wild rice and dinner rolls that come from suppliers.

We menu items every month and are noted on our menu by the F2S behind it.

We receive products many ways such as through the school garden, local producers, donations, and our regular suppliers.

Some of our producers are from the Benson area like Petersen's which grow tomatoes and peppers. We also purchase honey from Kent & Lori Peterson. Larry Anderson supplies us with cabbage from Morris. Peterson's from Holloway supply us with sweet corn.

We receive donations yearly of 300# of squash or more from August Grothe & his family. This is a wonderful addition of produce to our program.

We purchase organic dinner rolls from the Benson Bakery which gets grain that is milled in the local area.

Swenson Orchards of Montevideo has supplied us with 95% of our apples from September to December for eight years now.

We have also purchased in the past from the Fresh Connect Food Hub in Fergus Falls. We purchased: watermelon, cantaloupe, apples, romaine, cherry tomatoes, slicing tomatoes, green beans, onions, Delicata & Butternut squash, cucumbers, red & green peppers, broccoli, potatoes, cauliflower, carrots and cabbage. They only buy from local producers. For more information, please click on the link below:
http://z.umn.edu/fcfhreport

Our wild rice is from a Minnesota company called Canoe from Aitkin, MN. We purchase the rice from our regular distributors. We have also purchased other local items in the fall when they are available like potatoes or corn.

We want students to know where food comes from, how they can raise their own food, that fresh from the garden does taste better, and by buying local, it helps our local economy. The producers could be someone's parents, grandparents, cousins, or neighbors.